Devotion

Spiritual Growth and Spiritual Maturity

March 5, 2014 By henrydutton

Our interview season for this camp year is over. During the past 5 months I have throughly enjoyed getting to know new applicants and hearing their stories. One of the things that we do our best to gauge during an interview is spiritual maturity. We always ask several questions related to spiritual maturity, but 2 of my favorites are below:

“Is anyone intentionally pouring into you or mentoring you?”

“Are you intentionally pouring into anyone or mentoring anyone?”

These two things are definitely markers of spiritual maturity. Ephesians 4 tells us that Christ has gifted the members of his body with gifts so that we can train one another, build one another up, and do the work of His ministry. As children of God, we should be using our gifts to pour into others, and other members of the body should be pouring into us.

One of my friends and mentors, Derek Webster, recently taught on spiritual maturity and spiritual growth. He identified the following levels of spiritual maturity:

Infancy – focused on obedience to Christ / the danger in this stage is ignoring God’s commands
Marry Me – focused on love for the Savior / the danger in this stage is developing shallow roots
Parenting – focused on learning and Bible knowledge / the danger in this stage is legalism
Accept – focused on grace / the danger in this stage is apathy
Character – focused on deep character change / the danger in this stage is hypocrisy
Truth – focused on dedication / the danger in this stage is comfort

Derek explained that most Christians normally progress vertically through these stages, but it is also common to revisit each stage at different points along the Christian journey. Derek encouraged me to identify my level of spiritual maturity and think about what steps I needed to take to continue growing.

Today, I want to challenge you to do the same. Think about your level of maturity. What steps do you need to take to continue growing in Christ? Also, think about my first two questions. Is anyone pouring into you? If not, you need someone to fill this role in your life. Take active steps to find a mentor. Also, do you have anyone that you are intentionally pouring into? If not, diligently seek someone in whom you can invest.

None of us will ever “arrive,” but all of us should take steps to become more and more like our Savior.

But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head —Christ. Eph. 4:15

Follow Jesus’ Example: Practice Servant Leadership

January 8, 2014 By centrikid2018

When leading a team, it is so important not to create an atmosphere of servant vs. leader, but, instead, to practice servant leadership.

In Mark 10:43-45, Jesus says, “But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life – a ransom for many.”

However, in today’s society, when we hear the word “leader,” we almost always think of someone who is powerful, who is dynamic, and who has it all together. But in this passage of Scripture, Jesus flips it around and tells us something completely opposite. He doesn’t say that who wants to become great should tell everyone else what to do or step on others to get to the top. He tells us that whoever wants to become great must become a servant to all.

So, how does this work? How do we effectively lead while serving? It starts by loving our teammates with the same love Jesus has for us. He didn’t serve out of obligation; He served out of love — a love so strong that He gave His life as “a ransom for many.” When we love those around us, we have their best interest at heart regardless of circumstances. We’re not concerned about how we look or if we get the recognition we deserve, so serving comes naturally because we are focused on the wellbeing of our team as a whole, not just on ourselves. Serving just to serve or to feel like a martyr isn’t the point. When we follow Jesus’ example and serve out of love, we find ourselves satisfied and our team unified.

Examine your heart today and reflect on how you’ve been serving others lately while you read Philippians 2:3-8: “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead he emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.”

Count Your Blessings

December 18, 2013 By henrydutton

One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Count Your Blessings.” Bing Crosby made this song famous by singing it on White Christmas, and I particularly enjoy the version by the Ray Conniff Singers. I grew up listening to this song around Christmas, and there were even times when my mom or dad would sing this song to help me fall asleep. A few of the lyrics are below:

And when we’re worried and we can’t sleep
We’ll count our blessings instead of sheep
And we’ll fall asleep counting our blessings

And when our bank hold is getting small
We’ll think about the time when we had none at all
And we’ll fall asleep counting our blessings

As the song continues, the singers reflect on many of the true blessings in their lives such as family and friends.

This song is a special reminder for me to keep my focus on the important things in life. It also always makes me think about Matthew 6. Jesus teaches that we should not worry about what we will eat, drink, or wear; instead we should focus on the Kingdom of God: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:33-34, HCSB). Our focus should not be on Earthly things but on things that truly matter.

This Christmas, if you find yourself overwhelmed by the busyness and hectic nature of the season, take a moment to reflect on the blessings in your life. Last year I wrote about some of the true blessings in my life. Check out that post here. Comment below to share some of the true blessings in your life, too.

Milestones

October 16, 2013 By centrikid2018

One day doing yard work I noticed a stone structure in a flowerbed. The owner of the house told me the story of the stones. He had placed them in a pyramid after he and his family went through a rough time in their lives. He told me that whatever hard condition they learned a deeper understanding that God was with them. Collectively, the stones represented God’s faithfulness through their circumstances. He wanted his family to remember what the Lord had done in their lives. He called it his “Ebenezer”.

The word Ebenezer means “stone of help” in Hebrew. You may think of “Come Thou Fount” whenever you hear Ebenezer or maybe you recall the story of Samuel and the House of Israel being saved by God from the Philistines after repenting from idols and returning the ark. Samuel creates a monument calling it Ebenezer saying, “The Lord has helped us to this point” (1 Samuel 7: 12b).

We all have Ebenezer milestones that help mark monumental moments in our lives. It is beneficial to remember these milestones, because meditating on them help you worship God, who has continually proved faithful in your life. Your milestone may have occurred through your experiences on a mission trip, or a time where you were stretched financially, or during a summer camp. Without any doubt everyone who recognizes Jesus Christ as their savior has a milestone by being adopted into God’s family.

Today I encourage you to take time to look at your Ebenezer. Maybe you already have a physical representation of God’s faithfulness, such as a prayer journal. Spend time thinking of events where God moved in your life to show you more about his character. Use your meditation on these milestone today as worship to God and his faithfulness.

Make your Faith and Works Match

October 14, 2013 By jeremyechols

Have you ever had someone try to “sell you” on their new diet or their new workout plan? Are you disappointed when they tell you about all the benefits and wonderful results, but you find out they just started it 2 days ago?

Do you ever fall into a similar scenario with your faith? Christians can’t impact the world by just spouting out “benefits” of faith. We can’t expect a neighbor or co-worker to care about our beliefs if we don’t actually put them into practice.

Going back to the workout illustration, I don’t shrug my shoulders at someone’s fitness plan just because they don’t look like a professional athlete. I’m genuinely interested in hearing about how someone feels better and gets results if they are actually using the plan. Similarly with the Gospel, your words will truly connect when your message and your life match. When you are living out your faith, when you are pursuing God daily, and when your life demonstrates that you are following Christ, its worth listening to.

You don’t have to “arrive” or “have it all together” to share your faith, but you cannot lead someone to something that you are not pursuing yourself.

Today’s question – Should you take a minute now to “work out” your faith? Read James 2:14-26. What is an intentional way that you can practice your faith today so you are continuing to grow tomorrow?